Capturing Television History, One Voice At A Time

Reza Badiyi

Director / Title Visualizer

"The best secret for a director is more and more preparation… You often feel that the worst thing will happen. What if it doesn't work? That's the fear of failure. Or you start thinking, 'I'm going to do this phenomenal thing' and you get very high about creating. In between those two there is a plateau that you wish and you pray to have, that you can provide an opening where every individual can function at their best… If you can provide that kind of atmosphere, you are a genius. And if you are prepared you can do that."

About This Interview

In his four-and-a-half hour Archive interview, Reza Badiyi (1929-2011) discusses working in his native Iran, where he won awards for documentary filmmaking, and talks about coming to the United States to assist with low budget films, including those directed by a young Robert Altman. He details his innovative title designs for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, That Girl, and for Hawaii Five-O, which featured memorable location footage, jump cuts and slow motion effects. Additionally, Badiyi recalls dozens of series for which he served as a director, including: Get Smart, Mission: Impossible, and Cagney & Lacey. B-roll includes photos from his early years with Robert Altman, as well as an example of his specially organized call sheet, known as the Reza sheet. Karen Herman conducted the interview in Los Angeles, CA on November 6, 2003.